


Never Ended Well

by onlyhereforellick



Series: Angstober '20 [9]
Category: NCIS
Genre: F/M, fictober 20
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:49:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26936155
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onlyhereforellick/pseuds/onlyhereforellick
Summary: A full week.
Relationships: Ellie Bishop/Nick Torres
Series: Angstober '20 [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1952188
Comments: 3
Kudos: 19





	Never Ended Well

**Author's Note:**

> Fictober '20 - "Will you look at this?"
> 
> (a day late shhhhhh work is terrible)

A full week.

She’d endured a full week of muted whispers and stolen glances from the revolving door of her family as she set up camp in the sunroom off the main living area.

The twenty hour trip had been brutal, and as much as she’d wanted to drive straight through- her tired, cried out eyes didn’t let her. Not until thirteen hours in, through the night and a tiny bit into the wee hours of the morning, did she have to stop in St. Louis. And minutes into drifting off for a catnap did Ellie realize what she was doing—it still wasn’t running from her problems, it was finding herself. Returning to her roots and finding who she truly was. Who she’d lost in her tumultuous time in DC. Who she’d lost in her make-believe world with Nick.

Tossing and turning she lasted about two hours in the tiny motel off the highway. Resigning to her fate, Ellie splashed her face, refused to look in the mirror quite yet and took off for the remaining seven hours. McGee’s call came through within minutes. Almost immediately she declined it with a “oh hell no,” said to the quiet cabin. The second attempt was quick and Ellie started to doubt herself for not answering, yet…decline. It could be an emergency- but it could also be a conversation she did not want to have quite this second. But apparently, McGee had other ideas and recently grown a backbone when it came to being persistent. With a heavy sigh she had answered on speakerphone—fully aware he’d be able to pick up on her location.

Ellie felt herself pleading at one point and didn’t care—she needed Tim to understand how much it meant to her. How much it meant to let Nick figure his own mess out. _If he even wanted to_ , she’d thought in the moment but quickly quieted that unwelcome voice.

Except now she was here, doing desk work in her old family home, while being watched. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up straight almost every minute of every hour of every day. Ellie knew her family meant well and were just concerned for her- hell, they’d seen this before. But it was _different_ she wanted to cry out. Not only was this escape for her- but it was for _him_. Ellie needed Nick to know his own truth and admit to their truth, if there was a their truth.

And there she sat, for an entire week. No word from her team other than McGee’s daily correspondence to send along whatever paperwork or cyber digging they needed help with. No word from Gibbs, Kasie, Jack, and certainly not Nick. And in the evening, she felt like she was walking on eggshells with her mother- like she was constantly worried Ellie would break down at a moment’s notice. Her father stayed silent as per usual, directing his emotions inward, just like Ellie used to be- _until Nick_.

One week. Nothing.

Until George stopped by one Thursday afternoon to “drop off mail” according to his unnecessarily loud announcement as he walked in the door. Ellie shook her head without moving from her spot at the makeshift desk facing the back window overlooking the farm.

She heard him toe off his boots and pad over to her mother in the kitchen who continued on her daily deep cleaning, of which Ellie was sure had been finished five days ago, but nonetheless she didn’t call Barbara out on it. She knew it was all out of love.

Ellie turned her attention back to the lines and lines of credit card data in front of her, trying desperately to tune out her eldest brother and mother’s whispers from behind her. And she’d almost succeeded until she heard one, simple phrase: “He _what??_ ” Barbara had hissed back at George, clearly forgetting to keep her volume down.

Ellie’s ears perked up despite not moving a muscle from her position- a skill learned long ago as a trained federal agent. Her fingers even continued to tap out a nonsense email to no sender in an effort to throw them off her scent.

The pregnant pause following Barbara’s mishap finally ceased with George resuming whispering. Ellie thankful for the—unfortunate for them, fortunate for her—arrangement of the room. The curvature of the sunroom’s bay window provided excellent reverb for the sound waves across the main room.

“Will you look at this?” He persisted quietly.

Ellie presumed he was showing her mother something- a piece of paper, a picture, something- but didn’t dare turn around to find out.

Barbara gasped through her clenched teeth, “He really sent this?”

Ellie ached to know who _he_ was, she could only hope— _or was that dread?_ —that it was Nick, but waited on bated breath for George to elaborate.

Nothing initially- maybe he was nodding? Then he continued, “He sent it the other day, practically begged me to not tell her.”

Her gut twisted at his words—not tell her _what??_

Barbara interjected before George could explain, “I mean- we have to don’t we?”

Ellie wanted to scream that yes they absolutely did have to. She was _blood_ for crying out loud!

George’s firm tone shone through even in a whisper, “No, Mom. Not this time.”

“But—“

“No.” George said emphatically, practically putting his foot down. “It’ll be okay, she’ll be okay.”

Ellie felt her insides tying in knots at the tension George just created. The absolute unknown of what Nick could have said, what could happen. _Or what might never will_ , she thought.

Her fingers found themselves again and she opened up the credit card statements, she would immerse herself in work- she refused to even slightly get her hopes up.

It never ended well for her when she did.

_Never has and never will._


End file.
